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I liked a lot of the movie, and liked the villain, and Dr. Loomis as characters, and felt they were very effective. However, what I found really odd about the movie was the main character, Laurie, and felt her to be a very underwhelming MC.
Mostly her friends just talk about their sex lives, and that's it, where Laurie herself doesn't have any kind of character arc at all, and is just a random victim caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kind if John McClane in Die Hard, but at least McClane was having marital issues he was trying to work through, and redeemed his character through the ordeal he was going through, kind of. Or like how LB Jeffries, in Rear Window, bonded with his girlfriend and improved their relationship, through the ordeal.
Laurie has nothing to build on, character arc wise. And her friends have the shallowest, most unprofound conversations. I mean imagine if in Jaws, for examples, the guys talk about their love lives in that sort of way, while on the sea together. It just wouldn't be as deep.
But maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way? What do you think?
But maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way? What do you think?
HALLOWEEN is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. It is a flawed masterpiece.
First, the flaws:
The movie's few attempts at humor all fall flat as a tin pancake. The palm trees that keep popping up in the background of this supposed Illinois small town always make me grin. And the final murder spree payoff is ... well, a little weak. The movie's set up is a masterpiece of building dread, but when Halloween night finally comes, Myers amounts to little more than a maniacal jack-in-the-box coming up with increasingly ridiculous ways of killing people.
Now, why it is a masterpiece:
The music.
The sense of slowly building dread.
The music.
Some of the photography is genuinely beautiful. The scene where Laurie and Annie are driving around and the sun is going down is truly gorgeous. The opening shot of Michael's first murder was ground-breaking at the time.
The music.
But for me HALLOWEEN's single greatest achievement is the theme. Carpenter said there are two types of horror stories: There is the Evil is Out There Story. It's out there in the dark, waiting. But if we stay by our fires and stick together, we'll be all right. And then there is the Evil is Within story, where even our fire and our numbers are not safe, but evil is lurking within any one of us. Most classic horror films were Out There stories. PSYCHO was the first truly great Evil Within story.
The genius of HALLOWEEN is that it spends 95% of its time looking like an Evil Within story. Michael Myers is a mentally ill psychopath on a rampage. But then you've got Dr. Loomis, telling everyone in every scene, "No! Michael is not crazy. He is Evil!" You can even hear the capital E in his rants. And so Loomis comes across as the craziest loon of all. Until the very last scene. And that's when Carpenter pulls the rug out from under us. This was an Evil Out There story all the time. Loomis isn't nuts. Loomis is right. Michael Myers isn't just insane. He is Evil. And that last shot tells us he is everywhere and he's never going away.
And then there's the music.
So yes. HALLOWEEN is a masterpiece of the genre. It isn't perfect. Its got some flaws. But those flaws do not keep it from being the masterwork that it is.
One of the most influential and best horror films ever. That movie scared me when younger. Was worried about seeing that pale face slowly emerging from dark corners. Even the second one was good, with the relentless Micheal going to the hospital to finish what he started.
The genius of HALLOWEEN is that it spends 95% of its time looking like an Evil Within story. Michael Myers is a mentally ill psychopath on a rampage. But then you've got Dr. Loomis, telling everyone in every scene, "No! Michael is not crazy. He is Evil!" You can even hear the capital E in his rants. And so Loomis comes across as the craziest loon of all. Until the very last scene. And that's when Carpenter pulls the rug out from under us. This was an Evil Out There story all the time. Loomis isn't nuts. Loomis is right. Michael Myers isn't just insane. He is Evil. And that last shot tells us he is everywhere and he's never going away.
By the way, this is also why I'm a little worried that the new HALLOWEEN sequel in the works may not be the worthy sequel it ought to be. Because everything I have read from those making it don't seem to get this point.
Halloween is my favorite horror movie. Michael Myers has become such an interesting character throughout the franchise, but in the original film he is this incredibly scary, mysterious character that takes the movie to a whole other level.
I agree with every word Mark S. said about Halloween. The music was beautifully done and there are definitely some pretty amazing scenes shot in the film.
I am looking forward to seeing the new one this October. I have been trying my best to stay away from any news about it, because I want to go in fresh and without influence. I am hoping for the best.
HALLOWEEN is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. It is a flawed masterpiece.
First, the flaws:
The movie's few attempts at humor all fall flat as a tin pancake. The palm trees that keep popping up in the background of this supposed Illinois small town always make me grin. And the final murder spree payoff is ... well, a little weak. The movie's set up is a masterpiece of building dread, but when Halloween night finally comes, Myers amounts to little more than a maniacal jack-in-the-box coming up with increasingly ridiculous ways of killing people.
Now, why it is a masterpiece:
The music.
The sense of slowly building dread.
The music.
Some of the photography is genuinely beautiful. The scene where Laurie and Annie are driving around and the sun is going down is truly gorgeous. The opening shot of Michael's first murder was ground-breaking at the time.
The music.
But for me HALLOWEEN's single greatest achievement is the theme. Carpenter said there are two types of horror stories: There is the Evil is Out There Story. It's out there in the dark, waiting. But if we stay by our fires and stick together, we'll be all right. And then there is the Evil is Within story, where even our fire and our numbers are not safe, but evil is lurking within any one of us. Most classic horror films were Out There stories. PSYCHO was the first truly great Evil Within story.
The genius of HALLOWEEN is that it spends 95% of its time looking like an Evil Within story. Michael Myers is a mentally ill psychopath on a rampage. But then you've got Dr. Loomis, telling everyone in every scene, "No! Michael is not crazy. He is Evil!" You can even hear the capital E in his rants. And so Loomis comes across as the craziest loon of all. Until the very last scene. And that's when Carpenter pulls the rug out from under us. This was an Evil Out There story all the time. Loomis isn't nuts. Loomis is right. Michael Myers isn't just insane. He is Evil. And that last shot tells us he is everywhere and he's never going away.
And then there's the music.
So yes. HALLOWEEN is a masterpiece of the genre. It isn't perfect. Its got some flaws. But those flaws do not keep it from being the masterwork that it is.
Halloween was really ground-breaking..
We take slasher movies for granted now, but it was pioneering in creating the lumbering, indestructible killer.
It was also unique for it's success as a financially powerful indie film. I think at one point, it was considered the most proportionally profitable independent movie of all-time.. it was made for just over 300 grand, no (?)
It was a game-changer. Personally, it was the movie that got me in to horror..
Carpenter made good use of a new mobile camera that had just been developed in the late 70's. Approaching the house and pumpkin, following along with Michael Myers as he stalks, this was an evolution in portable camera technology, and it was pretty sweet. To be truthful tho, after Halloween 2, I was kinda getting tired of the Michael Myers thing, and really liked the unrelated story in Halloween 3, with the diabolical plot to kill all the trick or treat kids whom wore the Silver Shamrock brand Halloween mask, to be triggered by watching a commercial on Halloween. I wish the Halloween franchise had followed with a new fresh story like that for each one after, with Creepshow type themes. Jason and Freddy were better than Michael Myers.
I thought Silent Rage should have done better than it did, with Chuck Norris and Flounder from Animal House as his sidekick. I like how they blended a little science fiction into it, to explain how the killer could keep coming back to life, time and time again. The experimental drugs the doctor gave the dead serial killer explained it well enough, and this film gave a good base to launch sequels, but it never happened. Chuck tosses him down a well at the end, and he is seen climbing back up. But no sequel, why Chuck, Why? He was so good in that one, and one of my favorite Chuck Norris movies.
Yeah I agree with all the points made about the movie. The only thing that sticks out like a sore thumb for me is Laurie, as I just find her to be a very odd main character for this movie.
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